Thunderstorm warning as torrential rain to hit north of UK as heatwave continues in south

A thunderstorm warning is in place for parts of the north on Sunday while the south will continue to swelter in "extreme heat" with temperatures above 30C in many areas, forecasters say.

Emergency services have already been forced to deal with several fires in England while a man died after getting into difficulty in a lake in Doncaster, South Yorkshire.

Dan Stroud, a Met Office meteorologist, said that the weather will continue to be dry across the south on Sunday.

“For the rest of the weekend, across the south, there will be a continuation of the very dry and hot conditions,” he said.

However, thunderstorms are expected in northern parts of the UK, with yellow thunderstorm warnings in place from noon on Sunday until 6am on Monday for most of Scotland and Northern Ireland, and from 10am until midnight for Wales and England.

“As we move into Sunday, a slight change with low pressure starting to arrive from the south,” Mr Stroud said.

“There is an increasing risk of some isolated showers across Devon and Cornwall, very early on Sunday.

“Most places still generally dry and fine, with some strong August sunshine, with those temperatures rising rapidly during the course of Sunday morning and into the afternoon.”

An amber heat warning remains in place until midnight on Sunday across parts of England and Wales. This means heat-related illnesses including sunburn and heat exhaustion are “likely” among the general population, and delays to public transport are “possible”.

Mr Stroud added that there was still a risk of more wildfires.

“It has been extremely dry for an extended period and the ground and vegetation has been baked dry, so there is a significant risk,” he said.

An official drought was declared in eight areas of England on Friday by the National Drought Group (NDG), which comprises representatives from the government, water companies, the Environment Agency (EA) and others.

England’s drought could persist into the next year, according to the EA.

John Curtin, executive director for local operations at the EA, said that after the driest summer in 50 years, it would take “weeks’ worth of rain” to replenish water sources.

Three water companies – Welsh Water, Southern Water, and South East Water – have all imposed hosepipe bans, while Yorkshire Water has announced a ban will start on 26 August and Thames Water is planning one in the coming weeks.

On Friday night, fire crews in Derbyshire tackled a huge blaze, with four fire engines at the scene in Creswell, Worksop.

Footage shared online showed flames filling the horizon and large plumes of smoke in the sky above a residential area.

In Dorset, a team of firefighters worked through the night to bring a wildfire at Studland under control, which was believed to have been sparked by a disposable barbecue.

It comes as Dorset Police appealed for anyone with any information about the cause of a large heath fire in Poole on August 4 to come forward.

Witnesses saw three young boys on bicycles making off from the scene at Upton Heath at about 2.30pm.

The fire had a “significant” impact on the community, and took firefighters several hours to put out.